Drinking coffee cuts risk of prostate cancer: study

Houston, TX - Harvard Medical School study finds that drinking coffee may help cut risk of prostate cancer. The study was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research’s Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research conference. Kathryn Wilson, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Channing Laboratory in Boston presented the findings.

Between 1986 and 2006 the study was conducted on 50,000 men every four years. Researchers documented the intake of regular and decaffeinated coffee. During this time, 4,975 men developed prostate cancer.

Researchers do not know exactly why coffee seems to have this effect. It may be due to the minerals and antioxidants found in coffee, which limit damage to cells. “Coffee has effects on insulin an glucose metabolism, as well as sex hormone levels, all of which play a role in prostate cancer. It was plausible that there may be an association between coffee and prostate cancer”, said Wilson.

There is no reason to stop drinking coffee out of any concern about prostate cancer. - Wilson

The results show that those who drank the most coffee had a 59% decrease in the risk of lethal or advanced prostate cancer when compared to men who drank no coffee. Men that never smoked saw the highest percentage of avoiding risk; 89% decreased risk compared to men that did not drink coffee.